Past, Present, and Future
by IvyGreen13
Summary: The people from the barricade are dead. But what happens when they awaken in a new place, with a chance at a new life? What happens when they wake in modern New York? Eventual Eponine/Enjolras.
1. Prologue

** Eponine**

"Marius!"

I dive forward. I don't want him hurt. I put my hand in front of the gun and turn it slowly away from it, so I'm facing the barrel.

If I die now, at least I was saving him, I think.

And then the gun fires. I'm aware of a searing pain, in my hand and in my back.

I've been shot.

The next thing I know, I've dragged myself to somewhere away from the fighting and I'm whispering weakly to Marius:

"You must kiss me once I'm dead. I will know."  
He nods.  
I allow my eyes to close, and then I say,

"Actually, Monseiur, I think I was a little bit in love with you."  
Then all goes black.

I feel a kiss planted on my forehead and then I feel nothing more.

* * *

**Gavroche**

I'm putting ammunition in the basket.  
"Come back, Gavroche!" shouts Courfeyrac.  
"Gavroche!" yells Enjolras.

They're all shouting for me to return.

I turn to them and grin.

Then the bullet pierces my stomach.  
I fall to the ground and sing,

"So you better run for cover when the pup grows..."

And another bullet strikes me in the head.

The last thing I think is:

Well, Eponine's gone now. My sister. What was there left for me?

* * *

**Joly**

Combeferre, Courfeyrac, Jehan, Feuilly, Bahorel,Bossuet, Enjolras, and I are crowded into a tiny room with some other students, near the top of the ABC, holding our breath, hoping, hoping, that the soldiers underneath don't find us.  
Enjolras holds a finger to his lips.

Like we need to be told.

I nod.

It was no use.  
I hear the men below cock their guns.

There's a blast. I see the others go flying. Enjolras darts to the side.

Glass shatters all around me. That's the last I see.

* * *

**Enjolras**

They're all dead. All gone. What's left now? Only patria. Only liberty.

Enjolras Liberté, I muse. That's my name. I changed my name to Liberté when I left my grandfather's house.  
I'm in the attic room now, holding the flag. The soldiers storm in, and I turn to them, with a cocked eyebrow.

I fold my arms.  
"Shoot me."  
The door bangs open, and Grantaire stumbles in.

"Long live the revolution! I'm one of them."  
"Grantaire?"

He grins at me.  
"If you don't mind."  
I nod, taking his hand and holding it up in the air.  
"For patria!" I shout.

Then the guns fire.

Grantaire falls to the ground. I fall backwards out the window, and dangle there. My hand still has a death grip on the flag.

* * *

**Javert**

I stare into the Siene. At this place, especially,the water is dangerous. If I fall, I will die. No question.  
I released Valjean. How?  
He released me. Why?  
Can I live with myself now?  
What choice did I have?

My options were to capture him after he'd saved me, which would lower me to the level of a criminal, or to let him go free, which would mean a criminal rising above the law.

What to do?  
It's like standing on a precipice, with an abyss on either side of me.  
Where to turn?  
Valjean is a truly good man.

Can I live with that? Can I deal with the fact that this convict has changed?  
No- as I think this, I realize that that has always been the one principle that has held the world around me down- that people do not change. But they do.  
"There is nowhere I can turn," I whisper, "There is no way to go on."  
And in that moment, I know what to do.

I spread my arms and allow myself to drop into the river.

* * *

**Valjean**

I sit in this chair, prepared fully for the end. Prepared for death.  
I sigh, and then I see her. Fantine. The angel, rising, taking me to heaven with her.

"Come with me, where chains will never bind you. All your grief, at last, at last, behind you. God in heaven, look down on him in mercy."  
I smile.  
"Forgive me all my trespasses, and take me to your glory."

"Take my hand, I'll lead you to salvation. Take my love, for love is everlasting. And remember the truth that once was spoken; to love another person is to see the face of god..."

Oh, how true.  
And then, as my spirit leaves my body, I see the Bishop. Welcoming me to death as he helped me so many years ago; with kindness.

Do you hear the people sing

Lost in the valley of the night

It is the music of a people who are climbing to the light

For the wretched of the earth

There is a flame that never dies

Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.


	2. A new place

**Eponine**

"And the rain will help the flowers grow..."

I wake in a clean white bed, with the memory of last night's battle fresh in my mind.  
"Oh, zut, not a hospital again! I thought I was done with them when I got shot! Isn't that at least one good thing about being dead?"  
And then I realize: Dead. I am dead.

I look down at myself. I raise my hand, the one that was shot, and look at it. It's scarred. But the wounds don't seem fresh. They seem like I've had them for many years.

I sit up and look to my right.

"Gavroche?"  
He sits up.  
"'Ponine! You're alive! But... you're dead!" he shouts, and then scratches his head, "Wait... so am I."

He seems to have woken up the rest of the people in the hospital. An assortment of other people start talking at once, including Enjolras, Grantaire, Joly, Combeferre, Jehan, Fueilly, Bahorel, Bossuet, Courfeyrac, Inspector Javert, and Jean Valjean.

"The barricade! Vive le France!"

"My wine! I need my wine!"  
"I'm sure I'm catching a cold..."  
"If we attack from the left we might catch them..."

"Gavroche! Are you alright?"  
"24601! I have you at last!"  
"Cosette!"  
"Quiet!" I shout.  
They stop talking and stare at me.  
"Before we start talking and screaming like a herd of wildebeasts, we should probably figure out where we are and why we're here. Because to the best of my knowledge, I am dead."

Valjean speaks up.

"If I could interrupt, Madmoiselle, I believe we're all dead if we're here, myself included."

Everyone nods, agreeing, saying yes, they're dead too. It's quite confusing.  
Enjolras stands, and begins to speak.

"Clearly, we are dead. This is a matter of some confusion. I am sure that when all of us died there were many matters that needed to be cleared up. However, it seems we have been granted a second chance at life. We can't be dead."  
"How do you know?" asks Joly.

"Because, if I was dead, I'd be in heaven or hell. This isn't my version of hell, and if this were heaven, I wouldn't be trapped in a little room here. But anyway, we are alive, so I suggest we make the most of it."

Enjolras really ticks me off at times. He pretends to know everything.  
"Well, if we intend to 'make the most of it' as you say, shouldn't we get out of here and stop yapping?" I snap.

He frowns.  
"And how, madmoiselle," he spits the word, "Do you intend we do that?"  
He has a point, but I'm not letting him know that. I look around and see a big door.

He follows my gaze and turns pink.

"I- saw that..."  
"Sure, " I say.

"Hey, could you two lovebirds please stop talking and start focusing on getting out of here?" smirks Grantaire.

I turn red and say:

"I'm doing it!"  
But Joly gets there first. He yanks the door open... and slams it shut with a piercing scream.

"What in the name of Patria...?" exclaims Enjolras.

Joly stands in front of the door.

"Trust me. You do not want to go out there."

"Joly. You're overreacting. Again,"I say, annoyed.

"No, I mean it," he says, looking hurt.

"Look, I'm sorry, but we need to get out of here." I search my mind wildly for some way to get him to move. Then I think of it.

"Joly, think of the germs that could accumulate in such a cramped enclosure."

He shudders. Then he looks from me to the door, clearly trying to figure out which is worse, illness or what lies outside. Clearly, germs win over, as he steps aside.

"Thank you."  
I yank open the door, with Enjolras next to me. And something large, red, and shiny nearly chops my head off as it whizzes by.  
I jerk back with a scream.

"Mon dieu! What on earth was that?"

Now the object has passed by, and I see where we are.

"Mon dieu..."

In front of me is a road, but it's black and shiny. Those odd moving objects rush up and down it. They look like they have people in them. And the houses... the houses seem to be miles high, reflective, beautiful. And they have signs on them, with flashing, colorful light.  
"What is this place?" mutters Enjolras.


	3. 2014

**Enjolras**

"Look, we need to leave. We can't just stay holed up in here forever," I say impatiently after two hours. We've been sitting here because no one wants to go out to the madhouse lying beyond the door. "Come on, let's go."  
I stand up to leave.  
"Who's with me?"  
"I am," chirps Gavroche, "I'm getting restless."

"I am," says Grantaire.  
"Coming," sighs Combeferre, "I need to keep an eye on you maniacs."  
Everyone stands up, one by one, agreeing to come. Everyone... except Eponine.

She sits on her bed with her arms and legs crossed, determinedly staring at a point above my head. I groan.

"Come on, 'Ponine," I say, reaching over to help her up.  
She slaps my hand away.  
"Don't call me that."  
If looks could kill. Ah, well. Some things never change.

"Why do you hate me, Eponine?"

She gives me a glare.

"It doesn't matter. I'm leaving."  
And she flounces out into the strange new world. Without answering my question.

Joly and I stand in front of a man who's busy talking into a strange silver device shaped like the letter C.  
"This is a circus," mumbles Joly, "I can only imagine the germs that must be flying around here, the contagious diseases."  
I roll my eyes but say nothing. He's a hypochondriac, and he's paranoid, but he's my best friend, so I must deal with it.  
"This man looks so queer!" Joly whispers.

It's true. He wears glasses that don't seem to serve any purpose because the lenses are dark, blue pants of some strange material, and a shirt that looks like something I'd sleep in. His hair is long, and reaches to his shoulders.  
"Excuse me?" I ask. He puts the object down.  
"Yes?" He smirks, "By the way, it's July, not October. Aren't you a bit too old for Halloween, anyway?"

I shrug, with no understanding of what he says.

"Sir, where is this place?"  
He looks at me like I've gone daft in the head.  
"Times Square!"  
I frown.

"Where's that?"  
He raises an eyebrow.

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"No, we're serious!"

He rolls his eyes.

"New York City, in America," he mutters, "God, one would think you're from the 1800s!"  
I look at Joly in alarm. He gives me a look that says best not to tell him that we are, but we should find out what year it is...

I shake my head at him.

"What year is it, sir?"  
He stares at me.  
"2014!"  
"Thank you, sir," I say shakily.

And we run back to the room.  
"Oh, you're back!" says Jehan.

"Did you find anything out?" asks Combeferre.  
Joly and I must look really pale, because Valjean points it out.

"What's wrong, boys?"  
"Er..."

What am I supposed to say? 'Hate to break it to you, but we're in America and it's 2014?'

Unfortunately, Joly has exactly that in mind. And that's what he says.

Way to break the news easy, Joly.

Everyone's staring at us like we've grown second heads.

Gavroche is the first to speak.  
"But... it was 1832. How did the year change?" He rushes towards Joly, "How long have I been asleep? Is my face wrinkly?"

"Calm down, Gavroche, we're fine," says Feuilly.

But are we?


	4. Books and Javert

**Gavroche**

'Ponine leaves and then comes back carrying a big reddish book.  
"What's that?" I ask.  
She turns it over. The title's in English. I read it out loud.

"A guide to 21st century America."  
"I nicked it. From a store down the road."

Enjolras rolls his eyes and then says,

"Here. Let me see it."  
She glares at him.

"Why should I?"  
"Eponine..."  
I intervene.  
"Really, 'Ponine, give it to him. His English is really good."

"Marius was actually fluent, but who knows where he is now," she mutters sadly, but sighs and hands it over reluctantly.

Enjolras looks hurt, but tries to hide it. He flips the book open and begins to read aloud.  
"Welcome to America in the 21st century. This one is for all you old and bald people out there who haven't gotten with the times yet."

Bossuet looks slightly offended, touching his head. Enjolras continues:  
"In this book, you will learn about those 'new fangled' devices that so confuse the elderly, and about how America has changed. This book has an index at the back, so you may look up any place you want."  
"That's good," says Joly, "Go to the section about New York City. That's what this place is called, right?"

Enjolras nods.

"New York City is one of those places that has changed a lot over the times. If someone from the past came here, they would be utterly befuddled. Skyscrapers- what's that?"

"Just keep reading," Combeferre says, "You can figure out the words later."  
Enjolras nods.

"Skyscrapers fill the city. The subway system is vast and confusing. There are cars called taxis that drive people around the city; unfortunately, during the time of the day when people most need them, they go off duty. However, with a good understanding of the 'City that never sleeps,' you will learn to love it."

He looks up.  
"The introduction ends there. I haven't got a clue what half the words mean. What's a skyscraper, what's a subway, what's a car, and what's the city that never sleeps?"  
"Not all bald people are old!" exclaims Bossuet indignantly.

"I think the city that never sleeps is New York City," says Valjean.  
"I think so too... hey, where's Javert?" asks Courfeyrac.

Everyone starts looking around.

"Maybe he left?" suggests Fueilly.

We run outside. He's gotten into an argument with a man on the street.

"Sir," says the man, "Are you okay?"  
Javert looks angry.  
"I demand that you take me back to France! I cannot be abducted by you foreigners. I AM THE LAW!"  
Now the man looks offended.  
"You belong in a loony bin," he says, marching off.

Javert folds his arms.

"They are mocking the law! Do they have no respect?"

Courfeyrac is trying hard not to laugh.

"Wait, so you're telling me you're stopping innocent passers-by and demanding they take you back to France?"  
"Yes!"  
"And you see nothing wrong with doing that?"

"No! I don't! Do you?"  
Javert glowers at Courf so intimidatingly that Courf shakes his head and says,

"No, Inspector."  
"That's what I thought."  
Grantaire is laughing silently at Courfeyrac's expression, and they both slip away. I quietly follow them.

* * *

**To make something clear:  
Enjolras and Joly are best friends. So are Grantaire and Courfeyrac. I know that's not how it is in the book or musical or movie, but that just suits the story.**

**Also, the next chapter might not be out for a while, because I am going back and editing the beginning so it's a bunch of different chapters, and that'll take a while. Sorry!  
Please review! :)**


End file.
